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1999–2026
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Showing 60 of 2,095,827 contributions. Latest 30 days: 3,357. Coverage: 12 May 1999 — 10 Jun 2026.
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
04 Jun 2026
Wealth Taxation for Public Services
Will the member take an intervention?
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
04 Jun 2026
Wealth Taxation for Public Services
Will the member recognise that 66 per cent of children living in relative poverty in 2014 to 2017 lived in a working household and that that figure stood at 75 per cent from 2022 to 2025? This is not just about work. Work is important, but the state needs to be there to protec...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
04 Jun 2026
Wealth Taxation for Public Services
Will the member take an intervention?
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
04 Jun 2026
Wealth Taxation for Public Services
Does the member recognise that the adult disability payment has to do with the additional costs of having a disability or a long-term condition? It does not have anything to do with whether or not someone is in work. Indeed, decreasing the payment takes away support that encou...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
04 Jun 2026
Wealth Taxation for Public Services
You do have time, actually.
Shirley-Anne Somerville (Dunfermline) (SNP) SNP Chamber
04 Jun 2026
Wealth Taxation for Public Services
Will the member take an intervention?
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
04 Jun 2026
General Question Time · Single-sex Spaces (Equalities and Human Rights Commission Guidance)
If Meghan Gallacher will forgive me for saying so, I think that she is confusing two different pieces of legislation. Maggie Chapman’s original question was about the Equality Act 2010 and the guidance that followed from that. There is an issue around the regulations on the pr...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
04 Jun 2026
General Question Time · Single-sex Spaces (Equalities and Human Rights Commission Guidance)
The EHRC is the enforcer of the Equality Act 2010, and it is for it to provide guidance. In this case, guidance has been provided to the UK Government and, as I said, that guidance is now before Parliament.I recognise Maggie Chapman’s point about the very strong views that are...
The Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice and Housing (Shirley-Anne Somerville) SNP Chamber
04 Jun 2026
General Question Time · Single-sex Spaces (Equalities and Human Rights Commission Guidance)
The United Kingdom Government has now approved the EHRC’s code of practice and laid it before the UK Parliament for 40 days of scrutiny before it comes into force. That is in line with the UK Government’s reserved powers in the Equality Act 2010.Scottish Government officials a...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
27 May 2026
First Homes Fund
The essence of the test-and-learn approach is to ensure that, as the first wave of the project is launched at the end of June, we ensure that we are continuously speaking to private developers, lenders and others to measure the impact.At the start, the scheme will be quite sma...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
27 May 2026
First Homes Fund
That is quite an unfair assessment, if I may say so. However, I thank Maggie Chapman for welcoming me to my nearly new role.It is important that the Government is there to support people across Scotland in all tenures. I deeply value the importance of the social rented sector,...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
27 May 2026
First Homes Fund
Emma Roddick makes the important point that we need to work with mortgage lenders and those with an interest in the first-time buyers market to ensure that we support people and that that support makes a genuine difference to them.Such schemes have been available in the past, ...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
27 May 2026
First Homes Fund
Let me try again for Willie Rennie. I am sure that he will tell me if I have once again not succeeded in explaining it. One of the important lessons that we have learned relates to the £300,000 property value limit that we have placed on the fund. The scheme is much more targe...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
27 May 2026
First Homes Fund
As I touched on in my statement, the scheme is one part of the wider support that the Scottish Government will give the housing market. It is important that we recognise the social rented supply, which is exactly why we are making £926 million available for the affordable hous...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
27 May 2026
First Homes Fund
If that continues to be the Scottish Conservatives’ policy, and if the party wishes to take a different approach to forthcoming Scottish Government budgets and to have costed discussions about whether to take the tax away and the implications that that will have for spending, ...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
27 May 2026
First Homes Fund
No, I do not think that it does. I go back to one of the points that was alluded to in my visit this morning. It is about ensuring that those who want to own their own home—home ownership is not for everyone—get additional support to be able to do so. It will also allow those ...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
27 May 2026
First Homes Fund
One important lesson led to the introduction of the property cap maximum of £300,000. The need to better target support to individuals who might not otherwise be able to purchase their first home was a key lesson that we learned.As I have said to members across the chamber, we...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
27 May 2026
First Homes Fund
One important way in which we will look at the success of the scheme is in how we help people with the pressure of the cost of living. I am mindful of the fact that someone’s ability to own their own home is very much to do with the affordability of the deposit and the mortgag...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
27 May 2026
First Homes Fund
As I said to Donald MacKinnon, I am not minded, at this stage, to look at regionalisation or the prioritisation of funding in this open round, but I am keeping an open mind on that.One aspect that is being discussed with stakeholders, including house builders, is how we ensure...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
27 May 2026
First Homes Fund
I welcome Donald MacKinnon to the chamber. I welcomed him to the Parliament privately yesterday, after his first speech. It was an exceptionally good first contribution, and I look forward to working with him on issues to do with island housing.Like Jenni Minto, Mr MacKinnon i...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
27 May 2026
First Homes Fund
Jenni Minto raises an important point, and the issue of ensuring that the scheme works for all parts of Scotland is a challenge that we must rise to—I alluded to that in my statement. That is why we are taking a whole-Scotland approach. The scheme can work effectively in rural...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
27 May 2026
First Homes Fund
I will try hard, in my first discussion with Mr Kerr, to very gently say a few things to him.This is a statement about the first homes fund. That is why it talks about the first homes fund. We can discuss other things in questions following other statements and in other debate...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
27 May 2026
First Homes Fund
I welcome Mark Griffin to his new post, and I look forward to working with him again.Today, we are presented with an example of the opportunity that members have to work together across the chamber. Mr Griffin has raised points about how the scheme should act and the lessons t...
The Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice and Housing (Shirley-Anne Somerville) SNP Chamber
27 May 2026
First Homes Fund
I welcome the opportunity to set out to Parliament, in these early days of the new session, the Government’s commitment to tackling one of the defining challenges that our country faces today: access to safe, secure and affordable homes.Housing remains a central priority for t...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
27 May 2026
First Homes Fund
The essence of the test-and-learn approach is to ensure that, as the first wave of the project is launched at the end of June, we ensure that we are continuously speaking to private developers, lenders and others to measure the impact.At the start, the scheme will be quite sma...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
27 May 2026
First Homes Fund
That is quite an unfair assessment, if I may say so. However, I thank Maggie Chapman for welcoming me to my nearly new role.It is important that the Government is there to support people across Scotland in all tenures. I deeply value the importance of the social rented sector,...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
27 May 2026
First Homes Fund
Emma Roddick makes the important point that we need to work with mortgage lenders and those with an interest in the first-time buyers market to ensure that we support people and that that support makes a genuine difference to them.Such schemes have been available in the past, ...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
27 May 2026
First Homes Fund
Let me try again for Willie Rennie. I am sure that he will tell me if I have once again not succeeded in explaining it. One of the important lessons that we have learned relates to the £300,000 property value limit that we have placed on the fund. The scheme is much more targe...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
27 May 2026
First Homes Fund
As I touched on in my statement, the scheme is one part of the wider support that the Scottish Government will give the housing market. It is important that we recognise the social rented supply, which is exactly why we are making £926 million available for the affordable hous...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
27 May 2026
First Homes Fund
If that continues to be the Scottish Conservatives’ policy, and if the party wishes to take a different approach to forthcoming Scottish Government budgets and to have costed discussions about whether to take the tax away and the implications that that will have for spending, ...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
27 May 2026
First Homes Fund
No, I do not think that it does. I go back to one of the points that was alluded to in my visit this morning. It is about ensuring that those who want to own their own home—home ownership is not for everyone—get additional support to be able to do so. It will also allow those ...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
27 May 2026
First Homes Fund
One important lesson led to the introduction of the property cap maximum of £300,000. The need to better target support to individuals who might not otherwise be able to purchase their first home was a key lesson that we learned.As I have said to members across the chamber, we...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
27 May 2026
First Homes Fund
One important way in which we will look at the success of the scheme is in how we help people with the pressure of the cost of living. I am mindful of the fact that someone’s ability to own their own home is very much to do with the affordability of the deposit and the mortgag...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
27 May 2026
First Homes Fund
As I said to Donald MacKinnon, I am not minded, at this stage, to look at regionalisation or the prioritisation of funding in this open round, but I am keeping an open mind on that.One aspect that is being discussed with stakeholders, including house builders, is how we ensure...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
27 May 2026
First Homes Fund
I welcome Donald MacKinnon to the chamber. I welcomed him to the Parliament privately yesterday, after his first speech. It was an exceptionally good first contribution, and I look forward to working with him on issues to do with island housing.Like Jenni Minto, Mr MacKinnon i...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
27 May 2026
First Homes Fund
Jenni Minto raises an important point, and the issue of ensuring that the scheme works for all parts of Scotland is a challenge that we must rise to—I alluded to that in my statement. That is why we are taking a whole-Scotland approach. The scheme can work effectively in rural...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
27 May 2026
First Homes Fund
I will try hard, in my first discussion with Mr Kerr, to very gently say a few things to him.This is a statement about the first homes fund. That is why it talks about the first homes fund. We can discuss other things in questions following other statements and in other debate...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
27 May 2026
First Homes Fund
I welcome Mark Griffin to his new post, and I look forward to working with him again.Today, we are presented with an example of the opportunity that members have to work together across the chamber. Mr Griffin has raised points about how the scheme should act and the lessons t...
The Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice and Housing (Shirley-Anne Somerville) SNP Chamber
27 May 2026
First Homes Fund
I welcome the opportunity to set out to Parliament, in these early days of the new session, the Government’s commitment to tackling one of the defining challenges that our country faces today: access to safe, secure and affordable homes.Housing remains a central priority for t...
Shirley-Anne Somerville (Dunfermline) (SNP) SNP Chamber
14 May 2026
Oaths and Affirmations
I, Shirley-Anne Somerville, do solemnly, sincerely and truly declare and affirm, that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty King Charles, his heirs and successors, according to law.
Shirley-Anne Somerville (Dunfermline) (SNP) SNP Chamber
14 May 2026
Oaths and Affirmations
I, Shirley-Anne Somerville, do solemnly, sincerely and truly declare and affirm, that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty King Charles, his heirs and successors, according to law.
Shirley-Anne Somerville (Dunfermline) (SNP) SNP Chamber
14 May 2026
Oaths and Affirmations
I, Shirley-Anne Somerville, do solemnly, sincerely and truly declare and affirm, that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty King Charles, his heirs and successors, according to law.
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
25 Mar 2026
Portfolio Question Time · Adult Disability Payment (Mental and Behavioural Disorders)
This will probably be the last time that I will have the opportunity—at least in the chamber—to thank Jeremy Balfour for the work that we have undertaken together over the years. We have disagreed on many things, but we have also agreed on a lot, particularly on social securit...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
25 Mar 2026
Portfolio Question Time · Adult Disability Payment (Mental and Behavioural Disorders)
The Institute for Public Policy Research Scotland’s recent work on the issue is exceptionally important. During a recent visit to Glasgow to launch the anti-stigma campaign encouraging people to apply for social security and to get the money that they are entitled to, I was pa...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
25 Mar 2026
Portfolio Question Time · Adult Disability Payment (Mental and Behavioural Disorders)
I would be delighted to do so, but the member will have to be exceptionally quick in progressing the matter, as she will be aware that the pre-election period is coming up. I would have been delighted to take that forward at an earlier point had she raised the matter with me s...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
25 Mar 2026
Portfolio Question Time · Adult Disability Payment (Mental and Behavioural Disorders)
I am sure that, as a practising GP, Dr Gulhane is aware that fit notes are not used in relation to adult disability payment; that is an entirely different part of the social security system. The part that Social Security Scotland uses, which was built with the clients in mind,...
The Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice (Shirley-Anne Somerville) SNP Chamber
25 Mar 2026
Portfolio Question Time · Adult Disability Payment (Mental and Behavioural Disorders)
I am proud that the Government is delivering for disabled people by continuing to invest in helping them with the cost of everyday tasks. The causes of increased demand for disability benefits were analysed in a report that was published in January by the Government’s chief so...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
25 Mar 2026
Portfolio Question Time · Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan 2026 to 2031
It is important that we learn from the good practice that is happening across Scotland. Emma Harper rightly pointed to some examples in her area of how important place-based approaches are, because local communities know what is needed most. That is why there is so much emphas...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
25 Mar 2026
Portfolio Question Time · Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan 2026 to 2031
Between the work that is outlined in the tackling child poverty delivery plan and the work that my colleague Ms McAllan has been doing on the housing emergency, it is critical that we work together across the Government to support children in Edinburgh, the Lothians and across...
The Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice (Shirley-Anne Somerville) SNP Chamber
25 Mar 2026
Portfolio Question Time · Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan 2026 to 2031
The tackling child poverty delivery plan, which was published earlier this month, commits to concrete action for the year ahead. That includes helping parents to increase their earnings, with £55 million in funding for a new package of skills support and help with transport an...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
12 Mar 2026
Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan
The new third sector fund will be a national front door to public services throughout Scotland. That is one example—but only one—of how the voices of children and young people have shaped the approach. I thank Young Scot, the Child Poverty Action Group and Aberlour Children’s ...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
12 Mar 2026
Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan
It is pleasing that Mr Kerr reflected on the fact that the statement is long and detailed—as, indeed, is the action plan that goes with it—because there are a great deal of new announcements in it. For the sake of time, I will not go through them all, but there are particular ...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
12 Mar 2026
Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan
I mentioned some of those measures in the answer that I just gave to Willie Rennie, but I will point again to the £9 million going to colleges through the RISE initiative, which will support up to 2,400 parents to access skills and education, as well as the new training access...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
12 Mar 2026
Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan
That focus has always been there, as is demonstrated by the fact that previous plans have also looked at the root causes of poverty and how to tackle them. The drivers in this plan are very similar to those in the previous plan, and that is because stakeholders have told us th...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
12 Mar 2026
Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan
I was very grateful for the work that the expert group undertook to look at a minimum income guarantee. Although it raised some challenges and recommendations for the Scottish Government—and, indeed, the next Scottish Government—in relation to first steps on that, it also high...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
12 Mar 2026
Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan
Because of the Scottish Government’s actions, the proportion of children in Scotland who are living in relative poverty has reduced, with the 2023-24 rate being the lowest it has been in a decade. Rates of both relative and absolute child poverty were 9 percentage points lower...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
12 Mar 2026
Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan
I am very proud of what the Scottish Government has delivered with the universal provision up to P6, our work to deliver based on Scottish child payment eligibility in P6 and P7, and the work of the pilots in our secondary schools.I am particularly proud that the education sec...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
12 Mar 2026
Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan
Christine Grahame points to the delivery by the Scottish Government and the real impact that it makes across Scotland. All members can reflect on the number of families who are benefiting from the Scottish child payment. The payment impacts on their wellbeing and, of course, t...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
12 Mar 2026
Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan
To be clear, the money does not just go to the central belt. A number of local authorities, both urban and rural, wish to take part in the fairer futures partnerships, for example. In Edinburgh today, the First Minister and I saw yet another example of a local authority using ...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
12 Mar 2026
Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan
Paul McLennan is right to point out the UK Government’s choice to continue some of the policies of previous Conservative Governments that, to me, exemplify austerity. We look at the amount that we are spending on the benefit cap, the bedroom tax and, as announced today, the fu...
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Chamber

Meeting of the Parliament 04 June 2026 [Draft]

04 Jun 2026 · S7 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Wealth Taxation for Public Services
Somerville, Shirley-Anne SNP Dunfermline Watch on SPTV

Will the member take an intervention?

In the same item of business

The Deputy Presiding Officer (Katy Clark) Lab
The next item of business is a debate on motion S7M-00249, in the name of Jenny Gilruth, on wealth taxation for public services. I invite members who wish to...
The Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government (Jenny Gilruth) SNP
I am conscious that the Minister for Public Finance, Hannah Mary Goodlad, will give her first speech in closing the debate. Hannah Mary’s victory in Shetland...
Craig Hoy (Dumfriesshire) (Con) Con
I welcome the minister to her new role. How does she explain Scotland’s economic performance gap?
Jenny Gilruth SNP
As Mr McKee is whispering in my ear, the economy is growing faster in Scotland than in other parts of the United Kingdom. In part, that is a result of our ap...
Liam Kerr (North East Scotland) (Con) Con
One of the minister’s predecessors was famously completely unaware of the principles of the Laffer curve. What is her view on that theory and whether it impa...
Jenny Gilruth SNP
Mr Flynn has provided me with an analogy with the Laffer curve: it went up and then it fell back down. I am not sure whether Mr Kerr would agree with that an...
Michael Marra (North East Scotland) (Lab) Lab
Will the Deputy First Minister take an intervention?
Jenny Gilruth SNP
I will take Mr Marra, but I am conscious of the time.
Michael Marra Lab
I appreciate that the Deputy First Minister has given way. In these matters, she and her predecessors have taken advice from a tax advisory group. Can she up...
Jenny Gilruth SNP
I think that Mr Marra is referring to the Scottish Fiscal Commission.
Michael Marra Lab
No—the tax advisory group.
Jenny Gilruth SNP
Okay. I would like to come back to Mr Marra in greater detail on that. I met the Scottish Fiscal Commission earlier today and we will continue that engagemen...
Willie Rennie (Fife North East) (LD) LD
Will the cabinet secretary give way?
Jenny Gilruth SNP
I am happy to do so for Mr Rennie.
Willie Rennie LD
I have been listening carefully to the cabinet secretary’s contribution. She has, in passing, referenced the challenging fiscal set-up, but most of what she ...
Jenny Gilruth SNP
I regret that, like his colleague Mr Cole-Hamilton, Mr Rennie has perhaps not been listening to what I have said. To clarify on the record, I note that those...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Katy Clark) Lab
I remind colleagues that there should be no interventions or interruptions during a first speech. I call Kim Schmulian to speak to and move amendment S7M-002...
Kim Schmulian (Glasgow) (Reform) Reform
Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I join other members in welcoming you and your colleagues to your new roles.I congratulate those members who have been r...
Michael Marra (North East Scotland) (Lab) Lab
Labour welcomes the early opportunity to debate the scale of the fiscal challenge that the SNP has created for Scotland. The £4.7 billion gap between the spe...
The Cabinet Secretary for Public Service Reform (Ivan McKee) SNP
Will the member take an intervention?
Michael Marra Lab
No, thank you. I am just getting started.We might all wish that the process would involve addressing the drug deaths crisis, which is the worst in the develo...
Ivan McKee SNP
Mr Marra said that the fiscal gap is a consequence of the Government’s spending plans and that we have no plan for addressing it. I think that he is wrong on...
Michael Marra Lab
I would certainly have to differ with Mr McKee on some of the analysis. The demand on our public services is recognised. It is clear from many reports by the...
Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green) Green
This is my first opportunity on the record to congratulate the new Deputy First Minister on her appointment. I am pleased that she has chosen to debate this ...
Craig Hoy Con
Would Patrick Harvie concede the point that the very wealthy are also likely to be the most mobile and that they can therefore take their wealth and their as...
Patrick Harvie Green
If the member reads the briefing that I have just mentioned, he will see that the vast majority of millionaires who were canvassed by that organisation are m...
Craig Hoy (Dumfriesshire) (Con) Con
I think that we all know why this debate is taking place: the SNP Government and John Swinney are in hock to the Scottish Green Party. A party that does not ...
Patrick Harvie Green
I am grateful to the member for taking my intervention. Does he agree in principle that abolishing poverty is a legitimate reason to impose taxation on those...
Craig Hoy Con
Growing the economy is the legitimate way of eradicating poverty. If we grew the economy, we would not need the burgeoning benefits bill that the SNP has pre...
Daniel Johnson (Edinburgh Southern) (Lab) Lab
Will the member take an intervention?